From the Boston Globe:

The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating allegations that a Massachusetts school is violating federal civil rights law by using electrical skin shocks to discipline children with disabilities.

The probe follows a 2009 letter of complaint signed by more than 30 disability rights groups alleging that the facility’s use of “painful and dehumanizing behavioral techniques violates all principles of human rights.”

The Judge Rotenberg Educational Center of Canton, southwest of Boston, is believed to be the only school in the country that gives children electric shocks as a form of treatment. Its population of 200 students have such conditions as autism, mental retardation and emotional problems. Roughly half wear electrodes attached to their skin, allowing staff members to remotely trigger an electrical shock through a hand-held device.

The school’s methods have stirred controversy for decades, garnering support from parents and opposition from rights advocates and politicians.

Earlier posts here.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 25th, 2010 at 10:47 am and is filed under NOT2BEMISSED, civil rights, law. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.